Flutter Bye

Another Day

Muffled groans meandered mindlessly through Alexandra’s ears the brain fog hindering the sounds from being translated into anything meaningful. Shards of light stabbed through the tiny slits her eyelids made trying to shield her eyes from the relentless attack. She was still immersed in a tank of thick liquid, no smell, no taste, she could not move, she could not breathe, she did not understand how she was still alive. Was she alive?

She slowly moved her eyes left and right trying not to attract attention to herself. If it came to the Authority’s attention that she was only in a half comatose state, they would inject her again. She could see, she was still in a room filled with rows and rows of tanks with people suspended in a light pink liquid. Tubes extended from their navels to the top of the tank. If Alexandra had a tube attached to her, she could not feel it.

What day was it? She had no idea, how long she had been in a suspended state. At first, she had tried to keep track of the days by making a mental diary of everything that was happening around her every time she faded in and out. Eventually, she realized that everything was always the same, there was nothing unique to help her make distinctions. Her mental diary was failing her, she mentally tossed it into the hopelessness along with everything else.

Alexandra continued to scan the confinement slowly. She could still see the same soldiers dressed in shiny tight red and silver onesies who paced slowly up and down the rows with guns slung over their backs. Every now and again a solider would stop abruptly and point their gun hastily at a tank, inspecting it closely. Occasionally, the solider would start yelling a word that sounded like sheepling or shebling and more soldiers would come running.

She was relieved to see that Elikai was still in the tank next to her. Her friends had slowly started to disappear one by one. Elikai was the only one left, besides herself. They hung there suspended in a sea of strangers. He was no longer gaunt. He looked eerily peaceful. He had the same half smile on his face, the very same one he had the day that he gave her the heart-shaped locket. She was holding the locket tightly in her fist when they captured her and herded her into the tank shed. She had no idea if she was still holding it in her hand.

As Alexandra adjusted her eyes back to center something caught her attention. She moved her eyes slowly in its direction. A butterfly. So free. If she could cry, a tear would be rolling down her face as her memory drifted back to the day Elikai gave her the heart-shaped locket.

Another Day

“The farmers are dead. We are all dead.” spat a middle-aged man wearing a brown ragged shirt and torn jeans. His long unkempt beard puffed forward when he banged on the table as he leant over and looked directly into Alexandra’s eyes.

“They don’t care, they sold us out, they are taking over.” The faint ringing of the doorbell could still be heard as the barman quickly shooed the man out of his establishment. The smell of urine and stale alcoholic breath lingered even though he was now nowhere to be seen.

“What was that all about? Who’s they?” smirked Elikai as he glanced sideways at Alexandra. The pair were sitting at a table in Café Butterfly, a popular French café at the edge of Hallow Park on the city outskirts. Butterflies floated silently around the café oblivious to their environment bringing a moments calm to the impending chaos that awaited its patrons outside.

“I have no idea” shrugged Alexandra back. “I think the warm weather brings out the crazies. Lack of water or something makes people hallucinate.”

The city was in the grips of a big drought, it had not rained for nearly five years and water had become very scarce. Gold was almost easier to find.

They sat there drinking their daily water ration. Alexandra watched a butterfly dance amongst the flowers then sit delicately on the edge of her glass. Elikai was fidgeting in his pocket. He flipped out a box and gave it to her.

“Happy anniversary.” His cheeks flushed crimson.

Alexandra sat frozen to her seat, looking at the heart-shaped locket sitting delicately on pink tissue paper in the box. Oh no our anniversary. “Oh Elikai, I’m so sorry, I forgot it was our anniversary. I didn’t get you anything.”

“That’s not the point. I wanted to buy you something nice, an anniversary is just an excuse.” He smiled, taking the locket and fastening it around her neck.

Alexandra stood and kissed Elikai on the check. “I’d better make a move. I’ve an early start tomorrow. Work are sending me out to the middle of nowhere.” Alexandra paused and lifted her eyebrows “Carnamah”, as she headed off towards the underground station. “I’ll call you Friday when I get back.” She threw a kiss in Elikai’s direction.

The smell of rancid sweat that wafted up from the underground entrance did not do the city’s newest train station justice. Its shiny porcelain tiles and silver escalators had not been washed since it opened, nor had the patrons using it. You would think, after five years you would not notice the smell anymore, but the smell always punched you in the face as you entered.

Alexandra’s mind floated back to her confined surroundings. Had she known that was the last time she would speak to Elikai she would have told him she loved him. Her mind wandered back to the day everything changed.

Another Day

The sun had not yet quite extended its bright yellow rays over the horizon, but Alexandra was already heading out through the city towards the farm belt. The fenced paddocks of endless yellow and brown barren dirt gave way to the occasional large metal shed that dominated the nothingness in the landscape.

The sheds were always surrounded by foreign workers. The land was barren, not a single crop had grown on the land since the big drought had started. As the drought worsened year by year, local farmers were one by one forced into bankruptcy and started selling off their land, until eventually the entire region was foreign owned. Nobody knew why they wanted the land or what they were doing with it, but nobody really cared either.

As Alexandra cruised towards Carnamah, windows down, trance music blaring she noticed the needle on the fuel gauge getting low. She slowed down and pulled her car into the next petrol station. There were quite a few cars and busloads of people heading back towards town.

“Everyone has to leave.” A man ran down past the bowsers waving his arms frantically. “The dust is coming; the dust is coming.” He chanted over and over like an incantation.

Alexandra looked up to see a tsunami of red dust thundering through the sky towards them. Before she had a chance to say or do anything she had been picked up and carried with the torrent of panicking people cramming onto the evacuation buses. The last thing she remembers of that day is feeling relieved as she stumbled across Elikai and her friends amongst the melee of hundreds of thousands of people being herded into a large shed in the middle of a barren paddock.

Another Day

The first thing Alexandra’s eyes focused on this time as she drifted out of her coma was the Ministers for Defense and Foreign Trade walking up and down the isles with a clipboard. The men looked to be in deep negotiation with several high-ranking officials of the Authority that had everyone detained. She could see clipboards and briefcases of money flying backwards and forwards.

Yes, finally someone is coming to save us. Yes, give them money whatever it takes to get us out of here. As the thought trailed off in Alexandra’s head, she could barely believe what was happening before her eyes. The two Ministers slammed shut several suitcases packed full of $100 bills shoved them under their arms and walked off. The Authority ushered the men through large steel doors. They were gone. Why did the Ministers take the money? Alexandra reassured herself. It’s part of the release deal.

As she scanned her eyes around, she was relieved to see that Elikai was still in the tank next to her. She strained her eyes to see he had a brown loop attached to his ear. Does he have an abattoir tag in his ear?

Don’t worry Elikai, we will all be out of here soon. I’ve seen the Ministers just make a deal with the Authority. They are getting us out of here. We are all going to be saved. Alexandra knew that Elikai could not hear her thoughts, but it soothed her to reassure Elikai out loud in her head.

A butterfly flew past and landed on Alexandra’s tank taking her attention away from Elikai’s ear. You poor thing, how did you get trapped in here? Alexandra drifted off again.

Another Day

Alexandra opened her eyes to find that Elikai no longer occupied the tank next to her. Her heart sunk as she realized, Elikai had been taken and she was all alone. As she carefully scanned her eyes from left to right, she noticed that the Minister for Defense was in the tank on her left and the Minister for Foreign Affairs was in the tank on her right. They both had brown abattoir tags in their ears. Alexandra’s mind froze as the magnitude of what she saw sunk in. Serve you right, scoundrels. The ironic joy of Alexandra’s delight at seeing their traitors now suspended helplessly in their tanks had not escaped her. We all go down together.

Alexandra’s death stare was interrupted by a cart of lifeless bodies hanging by their feet being wheeled into her line of sight. It stopped in front of her tank and a wave of fear washed down her body.

As if by instinct the butterfly came and sat on Alexandra’s tank to keep her company. Together they watched the soldiers haul both Ministers from their tanks, dangle them upside down on the cart and trundle them off towards a small door. As the door opened, she could see shiny metal tables with body parts covered in blood piled on top.

A wave of relief washed over Alexandra, she was not the prey today, she drifted off.

Another Day

Alexandra opened her eyes, she thought she could feel a dull throb in her ear. She slowly scanned her eyes to the right. The tank was empty. She slowly scanned her eyes to the left that tank was also empty. She carefully scanned her eyes up and down the isles of the containment. There were many empty tanks now.

Alexandra’s heart warmed as she spotted the butterfly flying high above the tanks, it floated down towards her and then landed on the shoulder of a soldier standing in front of her tank.

The soldier turned his head admiring the beautiful delicate creature fluttering its wings of gold and brown. For a fleeting moment, Alexandra saw a kind human behind those dark unnerving eyes. Then the solider lifted his hand and in one continuous swat brought his hand down on his shoulder with a slap. He lifted his hand and pulled the flat lifeless body of the butterfly off his shoulder. He dangled its body above his open mouth and dropped it in, chewing slowly. With one large movement of the soldier’s Adam's apple the butterfly was gone.

Alexandra’s heart sunk as she realized, she was once again alone. As she started drifting off, all she could do was pray she was not the next prey. We are all dead.